painting a purple abstract on trust alone...

hello world.

It's abstract play time. :-)

I tend to over analyze,
so whenever i start these kinds of paintings,
i ask my heart to take the front seat
and tell my mind to shut up and sit quietly at the back. ;-)

It's hard to do sometimes - to let the heart lead...

There's almost always a point during the painting
where i hear myself say "i really don't like this"...

Which usually always means... 
I'm not painting with the heart and the mind wants to be
in the front seat again.

So i flip the painting on its side and continue.

  
I literally talk to myself through the process:

just keep going.

don't judge.

paint what feels right.

there's no right or wrong.

do what comes naturally.

it's a painting, not brain surgery...

if it sucks,

the sun will still rise tomorrow.

And that's usually when i get more comfortable and confident...
and a little more daring.

It still feels somewhat controlled to me,
but i am getting better at letting loose. 

I love adding the oil pastels...

And in the end, i do like it, even if it's no longer as abstract 
as i thought it would be at first.

Art is all about trusting.

Trusting that your opinion of the painting
really has nothing to do with the art itself. 

Trusting that the process always works itself out, in the end.

***

FYI - i won't be putting word verification on my blog.
I'll just keep trashing the Anonymous comments. 
Thank you all for letting me know you hate word verification 
as much as i do. :-)

Another FYI... i'll be gone for a few days of rest and relaxation.
I'll catch up to your blogs soon.
Wishing you all a great weekend! xox

Here's a beautiful song by Sarah Harmer,
to set you in the same relaxation mode as mine,
without even having to leave your chair. 
:-)

One of the secrets of a happy life

is continuous small treats.

- Iris Murdoch

A few photos of last night's painting,

although i got carried away pretty quickly

and forgot to take "in between" photos. 

They basically go from the starting point...

to the end point. 

:-)

At first, all those lines in the yellowy-mustard color

made me think of the gates of hell.

(stop laughing...)

Don't ask me why, since i don't believe in hell.

I do know, however, that If there was a hell,

there would be more than one entrance. :-)

I was tempted to paint over them

cause i really didn't like where it was going

but then reminded myself

to let go.

Stop controlling.

Stop judging.

Stop planning.

Just go with whatever feels right for your next move,

your next brush stroke,

your next color.

That's not always easy to do,

because although we may not have an image in our heads

of what the final painting will look like,

we usually know what we don't like

and when we SEE what we don't like in our own brush strokes,

we're tempted to erase them,

remove them,

paint them over.

When instead,

we need to allow this transformation

to take place naturally.

So I resisted the temptation

(another difficult task sometimes...)

and kept the yellow gates where they were

and eventually,

they became more organic

and turned into seeds

and pods

and then trees.

...then a word that speak to me, for whatever reason...

and there you have it.

Magic.

Just like the taste in my mouth

after i ate one of these little babies...

:-)

Are there any other chocolate lovers out there?

Don't all scream at the same time.

(giggle)

Wishing you all a wonderful day filled with 

whatever your little heart desires.

xoxo